The present invention relates to cosmetic cleansers. Such products are known per se. They are essentially surface-active substances or mixtures of substances which are offered to the consumer in a variety of preparations.
Examples of preparations of this type are foam baths, shower gels, solid and liquid soaps or so-called xe2x80x9csyndetsxe2x80x9d (synthetic detergents), shampoos, hand-washing pastes, personal hygiene products, special cleansers for small children, and the like.
Surface-active substancesxe2x80x94the best known being the alkali metal salts of higher fatty acids, i.e. the classical xe2x80x9csoapsxe2x80x9dxe2x80x94are amphiphilic substances capable of emulsifying organic nonpolar substances in water.
These substances not only wash dirt from skin and hair, but also irritate the skin and mucosae to a greater or lesser extent depending on the choice of surfactant or surfactant mixture.
The surfactant used most widely for cosmetic compositions is sodium lauryl ether sulphate. Although it has good detergency and is well tolerated by the skin and mucosae, people with senstive skin should avoid frequent contact with it.
Although a large number of very mild surfactants is available, the surfactants of the prior art are either mild but have poor cleansing properties, or they have good cleansing properties but irritate the skin or mucosae.
The object was therefore to remedy these problems.
The present invention relates, in a particular embodiment, to cleansing preparations for use as shower preparations.
Such preparations are also known per se. They are essentially surface-active substances or mixtures of substances which are offered to the consumer in a variety of preparations. Preparations of this type are generally notable for having a certain water content, although they can also be in the form of, for example, a concentrate.
In general, preparations intended for the shower only differ slightly, or not at all, from bath preparations, except for the fact that in the case of shower preparations, preference is given to products having a higher viscosity which do not run from the hand following removal from the container. This is of lesser practical importance in the case of bath preparations.
Even a simple bath of water without added surfactants will initially cause the horny layer of the skin to swell, the degree of swelling being dependent on, for example, the bathing time and temperature. Not only are water-soluble substances, e.g. water-soluble constituents of dirt, washed off, but endogenous substances of the skin which are responsible for the water-binding ability of the horny layer are also washed away. In addition, fats in the skin are also dissolved and washed away to a certain extent by endogenous surface-active substances of the skin. After the initial swelling, this causes the skin to dry out significantly, which can be further intensified by detersive additives.
In healthy skin, these processes are generally of no consequence since the protective mechanisms of the skin can readily compensate for such slight disturbances to the upper layers of the skin. However, even in the case of non-pathological deviations from the norm, e.g. as a result of damage or irritation caused by the environment, light damage, ageing skin etc., the protective mechanism of the surface of the skin is disturbed. In some circumstances, it is then no longer able to fulfil its role by itself and must be regenerated using external measures.
The object of the present invention was thus to remedy these shortcomings of the prior art. It was also an object of the invention to provide bath and shower preparations which, on the one hand, are very gentle, but whose cleansing action, on the other hand, is not inferior.
The present invention further relates to detersive hair cosmetic preparations, commonly known as shampoos. In particular, the present invention relates to hair cosmetic active substance combinations and preparations for caring for the hair and the scalp.